Cruel Reality
by jane3876
Summary: NEWLY EDITED Kagome thought that if she waited, he'd finally turn to her, but as she watched him time and time again turn her away, she got tired of it. She was finally free, away from him and the painful memories. How will she take to her new life? AU
1. Prolouge & Ch 1

**Cruel Reality**

**Prologue**

_Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha and Co_

There once was a girl, who wished she had all she could ever desire, but was just beyond her reach. Though many called her beautiful and graceful, she thought herself plain and clumsy. Though many men desired her and many women envied her, she saw none of their yearning glances and only saw those of hate, those of contempt.

Her family knew her to be a happy, outgoing girl, but as time went on, the hateful glances withered away her sunny disposition and she turned into a timid girl. She kept her head lowered, her eyes centered on the ground. Her pride was gone and in its wake only shame remained.

None knew what happened to her, as one day she thought she had met her one true love. How naive she once was, how innocent. She thought him perfect. He was kind and caring, never very far from her sight. But she could never have him, as she could never have many things. He was not interested in her as a person, only as a woman, one to sooth an itch, nothing more. Desperate, the girl took what she could until soon enough her heart began to feel weary from all its pain. How he could so easily throw her aside, ignore her in favor of something more to his taste always continued to baffle the poor girl, but she held on tight, held on to what she knew she didn't deserve.

Until one day, she'd finally had enough. That is where we begin….

* * *

**Chapter One**

Kagome stared at the chipping and deeply stained rock sheet above her. The ceiling looked familiar to her and strange to her all the same. She never had been able to keep track of the places she'd been in, the nice ones and the ones like she was in now, the questionably-run ones. All the places blurred into one shameful, awful mass of meaninglessness.

She turned to her head to look at the pillow beside her head. A man lay sprawled on his stomach, his face pressed deeply into the pillow. His mussed raven hair fell over the back of his neck and forehead, leaving his angelic face looking young and peaceful. She yearned to reach over and brush the locks from his eyes but knew her touch would be unwelcomed.

She turned to stare at the ceiling once again and could feel the shame, the self-pity begin to rise in her throat but swallowed it. She'd had no illusions when she'd agreed to this. She had only herself to blame. But that didn't stop the hurt, the worthlessness she felt whenever she felt his cold condemnation outside of the bedroom. She tried to tell herself that she was a woman now, she could take this; she wasn't a starry-eyed school girl anymore. And this was what grown-ups did. However, no matter how much he disgraced her, how much he shunned her, she loved him still, like a fool.

Sighing, she set up and watched as the sheets pooled around her waist. She had lost her modesty along with her respect. The carpet was better than she'd seen before, only small spots of unidentifiable stains along its surface. The clothes scattered on the floor, both hers and his, were strewn across the grungy carpet, staying where they had landed after impatient hands had thrown them away.

Getting to her feet, Kagome didn't bother to be quiet as she made her way to the bathroom. He never stirred after their activities for at least an hour. She flipped on the light and braced her hands on the yellowed and cracked marble of the sink. She looked at her reflection through the scratched mirror and didn't recognize herself.

The woman in the mirror looked tired, looked beaten. Her eyes were hollow, bottomless pits of brown. Her black hair fell in clumps around her gaunt and haggard face. Her mouth was turned down at the corners and looked as if it hadn't smiled in a long time. This woman was a stranger; this was not the woman Kagome was supposed to be.

"Who am I?" she whispered and even her voice sounded foreign. It was scratchy and unused, nothing like the lilting melody it had once been. "He did this to me." She narrowed her eyes at the woman in the mirror as if in accusation. "He did this to me and I let him. I can't keep doing this. I can't be who he wants me to be."

With this realization came the crushing acceptance. She couldn't be who he wanted to be. He wanted the perfect girl. He wanted a woman that wanted him for reasons she didn't want him. He wanted a play thing, a soulless body to show off.

That woman was not Kagome. Kagome had standards; Kagome had respect. _Kagome was not this woman!_

Her eyes hardened and the first real emotion flared to life in their depths.

_I am not the woman he wants me to be. I'm better than that!_

She straightened her shoulders and strode into the bedroom once again. Gathering up her clothes she didn't dare glance in the direction of the bed. If she did, all this resolve, all her determination would vanish into the recesses of her mind once again.

She dressed in a hurry, afraid that he would awaken and attempt to stop her. A part of her hoped he would but she knew in her heart that he wouldn't have stopped her even if he had woken. He would have watched as she packed and said nothing. There would be no professions of love, no pleas for her to remain; only damning silence.

Finally dressed, Kagome grabbed her purse and paused. In the depths of her purse, lay the only thing he had ever given her. She pulled the golden locket by its thin chain. On the cover were engraved flowers that framed the heart shape and two entails etched into the center: _K & I_.

She wedged her thumb nail into the side to pop it open and felt a rush of pain at the sight that greeted her. On one side lay a picture of them when they'd first met. Kagome was the tender age of sixteen with long, untamable raven hair, her smile bright, confident. Next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders with a rebellious smirk stood him. His hair was much longer back then and pulled back into a ponytail, his broad shoulders incased in a beaten and ragged leather jacket.

They were young, they were happy. That couple had died along with Kagome's innocence.

This was the man Kagome had fallen in love with. This was the man Kagome clung to each time she looked herself in the eye and saw the disappointment. This man was long dead.

On the other side of the locket was a much more recent photo of them. Kagome stood stiffly to the side, her eyes not on the person taking the picture, but on the man next to her. In her eyes was an aching longing that could be felt to her soul and there was an empty smile on her face. Next to her, he stood with the same cocky smirk as always but there was an edge to it, a harshness that hadn't been there before. They stood apart, not touching each other. The tenseness could be read in every line of their faces, in every rigid position of their bodies. The love they had shared had been gone long before that picture had been taken.

Kagome snapped the locket shut with definitive movements, her heart shattered at her feet. She mourned for that youthful couple they had once been. But they were gone and in the wake stood the shell of who they used to be. Kagome placed the locket on the nightstand next to his still head. The locket would say what she couldn't.

Striding to the door, Kagome had to stop herself from looking over her shoulder one last time. But with a pounding heart, she opened the door and walked into the cool night, closing the door softly behind her with finality.

* * *

Kouga cursed his luck as his car shuddered, smoke billowing from under its gray hood. His calloused hands gripped the wheel tightly, willing the car to keep going through the night, even as the dial surged past the _H_ on the dash.

_Come on, you pile of scraps…A few more miles. Just a few more fucking miles…_

But as if in defiance, the car finally coughed wearily and slowed to a stop in the middle of the deserted street. Around him, the night air seemed to press closer as if it sensed the weakness.

Cursing his luck and his choice in cars, he banged his curled fists against the wheel to let out his pent up frustration.

_This is just what I fucking needed!_

He sighed and put his forehead on the wheel. Just two miles from his home and the damn thing had to go and die on him. He'd been waiting weeks for it to die, but it had been stubborn and lasted this long. Kouga grumbled under his breath as he got his bag from the back seat of the car and climbed out reluctantly.

The sound of a lone owl broke the silence of the dense night, making waves of unease slide down his spine. He shook it off as paranoia and began the trek home. Shining brightly above his head, stars twinkled mockingly at him, making his frown intensify. Luck just wasn't on his side today…

* * *

**(AN: I am finally editing this! I'm actually pretty proud of myself for keeping myself as close to the original plot line as possible. I hope I don't disappoint anyone with the changes that I've made. If you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me. Thanks for reading!)**

**Jane**


	2. Chapter 2

**Cruel Reality**

**Chapter Two**

_Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha and co._

"Here you are, ma'am. Apartment 208B. I hope you find everything to your liking."

Kagome strode past the man holding open the door and into the apartment warily. The space was small, with creamy white walls and mahogany colored floors. The roof sagged in one corner from past water damage, and in the corner cobwebs swayed gently in the breeze provided from the open windows. Sunlight streamed from in between the blinds to fall cheerily across the damaged and dust coated floors. Walking from the foyer, Kagome set her small bag of clothes in the center of what she assumed was the living room and turned around the corner to see a closet sized kitchen with a loud and beaten fridge wedged into one corner and chipped marble counters.

Making her away around the apartment, Kagome could feel the despair, the pain she had been carrying finally lift from her shoulders. This was her place. _Her _apartment.

Never in her life had Kagome lived alone. Straight from college she had moved in with her boyfriend and hadn't bothered considering her own place. But this place, this dingy, harsh place was _hers._ And Kagome loved it.

Turning to look at the small man that served as her new landlord, she bestowed upon him a brilliant smile. A smile she hadn't given to anyone in a long, long time. "Yes, it's lovely. Thank you."

The man came up to her shoulder, with balding gray hair and lines of stress had etched their way across his face, making him appear harsh and cynical. But to Kagome, he was as beautiful as any model. Because he was _her_ landlord. Her _first_ landlord.

He gave her a wary look and shrugged off her strangeness. He had lived in downtown Chicago long before he had moved to this tiny cozy town and he had seen it all. He stepped forward and handed Kagome a small golden key. "This is the key to your apartment. If you lose it, you'll have to file a report with the front desk so that I can go about making you a new one and it will cost you a fee. If you have any movers coming here they are your responsibility and I will not be liable for anything they break. Don't be loud, don't leave a mess and don't be late on your rent and we will get along just fine. Have fun, kid."

With that, he turned on his heel and closed the door behind him. Beaming, Kagome clutched the golden key to her chest and shifted from one foot the other anxiously. She couldn't wait to get started. The next day movers would be dropping off the stuff from her old apartment and Kagome could finally get going with her new life at the small, not-on-a-map town of Linmill.

Unable to contain her excitement, she tucked her new key to _her_ apartment in the pocket of her jeans and decided to go explore the town she had stumbled on and decided to make her new home.

A few hours later found Kagome standing in front of the only convenient store in town. She was a good bit lighter in her bank account, having purchased a new phone, a new couch and television and setting up the internet for her apartment. She now just had to find a job so that she could truly and fully be on her own for the first time in her life.

The bell above the door announced her entrance with a jingle. She made her way around the store looking for a newspaper or a bulletin board of town information or something of the like. Coming up empty, she walked to the waiting clerk with a small, sheepish smile. The clerk looked to be around sixteen with a face full of acne and the awkward limbs of youth. He smiled at her as she approached, palpable curiosity in his eyes. Kagome had met similar receptions in every store she had passed by and entered. It seemed as if the news of her arrival had already beaten her there. A small part of Kagome wanted to be irritated that everyone in the town looked at her as if she were an exotic animal, but most of her felt as if the town's caution and curiosity was refreshing from the apathy of the city.

"How may I help you ma'am?" he asked, his voice hurried and eager.

Kagome's smile became a little more relaxed. "Yes, I was wondering where you kept your newspapers. I'm looking for any openings for jobs around town."

"Well the newspaper is over in the back, but as for jobs, those mostly travel by word of mouth. Are you looking for any specific job?" Kagome thought about it, but decided she couldn't really afford to be picky and shook her head.

"I used to be a secretary for a lawyer where I came from, but that's about it." She watched as his eyes lit up at the news. Another piece of gossip to tell his buddy Bobby about the beautiful stranger that moved to town.

"Well then, you want to go to Kouga's place. He just opened his new practice. He's not a lawyer but an actual Private Investigator. Well, I suppose he does a little bit of both, considering we only have one other lawyer in town and he's just about retired so Kouga deals with law cases as well, but his main practice in working with the neighboring cities working cases and stuff. But here, I'll give you the address and you can go talk to him yourself."

Kagome gave him a brilliant smile as he handed her the address and gave her directions to the place. He blushed at her attention and gave her a timid smile back.

"Thank you so much. You've been a real help. My name is Kagome Higurashi, by the way," she said offering the young man her hand. His blush intensified and he nodded.

"The name's Trent Miller. Welcome to Linmill." Kagome nodded and left the store, Trent's stricken, wistful gaze following her the entire way.

* * *

Kouga muttered under his breath, shouting another curse as the skin of his finger was cut by _another_ piece of paper. He sat in the center of his new office, boxes piled high all around him like skyscrapers, filled to the brim with old case files from the city that he had worked and either closed or were on going. When he felt the sting of yet another paper cut, Kouga shouted his frustration and tossed the pile of papers he had been attempting to file away from him, sending them scattering across the already cluttered room.

"Great," he muttered, getting to his feet and reaching for the papers again. "This is what secretaries are for. I work the cases, they file them away. Man, that last one really hurt," he hissed, sticking the bleeding appendage into his mouth. He had just finished gathering the papers he had thrown when he was interrupted by a swift knock on his office door. Happy for the distraction, Kouga leapt to his feet and opened the door with flourish.

The woman in front of him started slightly with his dramatics and looked up at him with wide brown eyes. Kouga's greeting was lost to the wind when the sight of her hit him. Her long black hair was windblown and her bangs had come forward to fall messily into her impossibly wide eyes. Her plush mouth was parted slightly on her surprised gasp and Kouga caught sight a her pink tongue as it came forward to wet those lips. Her clothes looked a little worse for wear but Kouga could tell were not the department store brand. She practically screamed city girl.

"Yes, how may I help you?" he said once he had regained his voice once more. Her expressive eyes looked from his to a spot over his shoulder and back again.

"Are you Kouga?" she asked and he felt a shiver of familiarity run down his spine. He had heard that voice before. But he couldn't place it.

"Yes ma'am." Kagome sagged visibly with relief and finally allowed herself to really look at him. He stood well over a head taller than her. His hair was long and brown and pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck; his brilliant blue eyes searched hers with a familiarity that startled her, with his handsome features open and curious. She felt as if she knew him from somewhere…

"Um," she snapped to herself. "I heard that you were looking for a secretary?"

If possible, Kouga's smile got even wider and Kagome almost took a step back. "Yes, yes I have been looking. I've been looking for a secretary for weeks now. I moved here only a couple months ago so the locals haven't really warmed up to me quite yet so I've been fishing around in the dark by myself."

Kagome answered his smile with one of her own. "I moved here today actually. It certainly is a small town isn't it? I grew up in the city myself, so it's all a little strange to me."

"You moved from the city? Which one? I came from Boston."

Kagome blinked in surprise and reached up to touch the now naked skin of her neck. Kouga saw this with trained eyes and wondered what happened to the necklace that had most likely once rested at the base of her neck. "Yeah, me too. You know, I thought I had recognized you from somewhere."

He nodded and placed his hands on his hips. "I thought that same thing, actually. Maybe we met in the city and just don't really remember. So Miss…"

"Oh, how rude of me!" Kagome stepped forward to offer him her hand. "I'm Kagome Higurashi. Nice to meet you."

Kouga was startled to feel just how soft her hands really were. As he shook her hand, he looked down to see the skin around her ring finger was a few shades lighter than the rest of her hand. Where a wedding band had sat before, perhaps?

"Well, Ms. Higurashi, when can you start?" Kouga said releasing her hand and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Tomorrow," she said quickly, then laughed as a blush stained her cheeks prettily. "I'm sorry. This is just the first time I've really been on my own and I'm ready to get started."

"Don't worry, I like the enthusiasm. You're going to need it. Tomorrow sounds perfect. I expect you here at nine sharp. And wear something comfortable, because what I have planned is going to be very dusty."

Smiling eagerly, she nodded. "Please, call me Kagome. Thank you, Kouga. You won't regret this." With that, she turned to go and Kouga watched her as she disappeared down the street, his eyes trained on the slow sway of her hips in her form fitting jeans.

"Oh," he whispered to himself. "I'm sure I won't."

* * *

**(AN: Yep, I redid this chapter too. If you're reading this and you've read the story before, go back to the previous chapter that I edited as well. I like the changes I've made, but tell me what you think! I will also be redoing the other chapters and hopefully further developing the story. Thanks for reading!)**

**Jane**


	3. Chapter 3

**Cruel Reality**

**Chapter Three**

_Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha and Co._

_You know, when I thought of my first apartment I'd have, I never thought of just how much effort it takes to put it together, _Kagome groused.

She stood with her hands on her hips and scanned the disaster that greeted her that had once been her vacant apartment. Boxes lined the walls and cluttered the floors. Her furniture had been shoved into an unorganized corner of what she assumed would be her living room area. Shaking her head, she had to hold back a sigh of frustration.

She had woken to the sound of a brisk knock at her door. Eagerly, she had let in the moving men and had stood by while they brought in the things from her old life into her new life.

But she hadn't counted on there being so much…_stuff._ She had never realized exactly how much bigger her old living space had been until all the stuff made it impossible to take a step without tripping over a box or rapping a shin against an ill placed piece of furniture.

Looking at her watch, she cursed. "I don't have time for this," she muttered and picked her way around the boxes to make her way to her bedroom. She was due to her new work in half an hour and since she didn't have a car yet, she would be walking, leaving her a total of ten minutes to get ready.

By the time her clock showed eight forty five, Kagome was ready to go and pulling on her shoes. Taking one last look around her disaster of an apartment, she couldn't contain her grin.

Though it was cluttered and she would undoubtedly have a full day ahead of organizing everything, she was actually looking forward to it. Just another thing she got to do on her own; another part of being on her own.

* * *

Kagome shifted nervously as she waited for someone to come meet her at the door. Looking around, she didn't see any cars in the parking lot and felt a small spark of fear. Was she at the wrong place? Looking again at the address in her hand, she shook her head. No, she was in the right place.

Was she the first one here?

She looked at her watch with a frown. It was nine ten. She was late, but she was the first one there?

The roar of a motorcycle interrupted her train of thought and she turned just in time to see a man on a sleek black motorcycle pull into the first parking spot. The rider that straddled the machine was wearing hip hugging jeans and unbuttoned flannel shirt that flapped gently in the morning breeze, a plain white tank top molding to his stomach like a second skin. Broad shoulders bunched and flexed as he reached up and pulled the black riding helmet off and shook out his hair with a sigh of satisfaction. His face was split into a shit eating grin and his blue eyes gleamed mischievously in the rising sun and Kagome's breath caught in her throat.

Her heart skipped a beat for a moment when those brilliant eyes rose to meet hers and his grin widened. Swinging his leg around, Kouga stood to his full height with a grace that Kagome could only envy.

"You early or am I late?" he called to her as he reached into his pocket for his set of keys, his helmet tucked underneath his arm.

"Um, I guess you're late," she said as she looked once more at her watch. "It's fifteen after nine."

He came to stand close enough for her to feel his body heat through his flannel shirt and for her to catch sight of a gleam of sweat along his brow. Grinning down at her, he inserted the right key and unlocked the door with a dull click.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm the boss then, huh?"

Kagome didn't bother answering the question and simply followed him into the building, her eyes scanning her surroundings. The reception area was bare except for one lone metal desk that stood proudly in the middle of the area with dusty and outdated desktop computer sitting innocently on top. To the left was a short hallway that lead to two flanking doors, one of which Kouga went to unlock as well. Walking forward slowly, she took stock of the dust that lined the floor and floated up at the disturbance her boots kicked up. The windows were lined with grime and dirt. The ceiling was brown with age and several tiles were missing in action completely.

Kouga watched as his new secretary took in her surroundings and grinned when her pert nose wrinkled the slightest bit. Even dressed in casual black slacks and a yellow blouse, she radiated good taste and elegance.

"I know it's a little rough around the edges, but it grows on you," he said and grinned when she raised her big brown eyes to meet his gaze. A small grin lifted the corners of her mouth and her eyes twinkled up at him.

"I'm sure it does. These types of places tend to do that. Have you…" she thought of how to phrase the question. "Have you tried to…clean it, at all?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, can't say I have. I have an allergy you see and even the slightest bit of dust could send me into anaphylactic shock. And I'm assuming you wouldn't want your boss dying simply because the floor was a bit dusty, do you?"

She tucked her tongue into her cheek and shook her head. "Of course not." Setting down her purse on the beaten and scratched metal desk, she rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. "So, boss. Where are your brooms and mops?"

He grinned at her sheepishly. Looking up at him, her eyes widened. "You don't have a single broom?"

"Nope."

She sighed and pinched her nose. "Men," she muttered. Meeting his gaze, she ignored how handsome he looked while he leaned against the doorway to his office and grinned down at her while the dingy light reflected the blue of his eyes, a light, she knew, made her look as sleep deprived and tired as she felt.

_I do not find my first boss attractive. That is the __**last**__ thing I need right now,_ she thought with a frown. _Get focused Kagome and get to work._

Crossing her arms over her chest, she didn't return his grin. "Well then, what's my first job?"

His grin grew into a smirk and without a word he turned and disappeared into his office. She could heard the sound of rustling papers and muffled cursing just before he immerged with three boxes piled in his arms and strode toward her. Dropping them at her feet with flourish and large cloud of dust, he looked down at her narrowed eyes.

"I'm sure you know what to do with these, right?"

She nodded and crouched down to pry open the first box. Inside were unorganized piles of papers that looked as if they had simply been tossed in carelessly.

While she looked them over, Kouga explained, "These are my old case files from Chicago. I want you to organize them by dates and if they were completed or not, then I want you to enter them into my computer database."

She looked over to the dinosaur of a computer and then back at him. He met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. Stifling a sigh, she nodded curtly.

"And when you're done with these, there's more in my office." With a small grin, he turned on his heel and strode into his office. "Good luck, Miss Higurashi and welcome to the team."

* * *

_(AN: So, I've decided to deviate from the original story line a little bit. While I'm still looking back at old chapters, I just don't like the halfway formed plot I had wanted to do. I'm still debating whether or not to still do the 'fool the family' bit but I guess I'll cross that road when I come to it. I still have to develop their relationship and write in Shippo, Miroku and Sango after all. If you have any ideas about how to spice this up, please give me a heads up, I'm open to suggestion. And thank you to the only person that reviewed **tinabug, **you made my day with your words. Til next time...)_

_Jane _


	4. Chapter 4

_Cruel Reality_

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co.

* * *

Kagome woke early the next morning, her eyes bright and awake. Getting up and going through her usual routine of getting ready, her allowed her mind to wander as her body went on autopilot.

She hadn't been truly prepared for just how much she _liked_ being on her own, working for her own money, being her own person. She had stayed late into the night at Kouga's, sorting through the horrible disorganized files and attempting to decipher Kouga's atrocious handwriting. She had finally called it a night around eleven and had left, knowing she would need an early start the next day.

Despite the fact that her eyes were still a little sore and her back ached from sitting in the uncomfortable office chair provided, she had never felt happier. It was refreshing how she could stay out as late as she wanted and had no one to answer to but herself. Ever since she could remember, Kagome had always put other's welfare above her own. It had been her family until she had been eighteen and met _him_ and then her entire world had been consumed by him and their doomed relationship. She had had no time for friends, no time to think about her own life. She had been far too focused on _his._

But no longer. Now, she could do what she wanted, when she wanted without having to think about how someone else would think about it or what she needed to do for them. It was invigorating.

The sun was just beginning to make its appearance over the horizon when she arrived at the office. Inserting the copy of the key Kouga had given her the night before, Kagome turned on all the lights and made her way into the shabby receptionist area. Placing her purse on the desk, she took a look around with a deep sigh. This promised to be a very long day if she intended to get everything up to standards.

She was just reaching into the utilities closet where she had stashed cleaning supplies the day before on her break when she heard movement from one of the offices. Frowning, she turned toward the sound and made a sound of surprise at the light shining from within Kouga's office.

_Did he get here before me? No, the door had been locked when I got here. How did he slip by without me noticing?_

Striding to the door, she knocked softly and waited for a response. But everything was silent on the other side, making a sense of unease settle in her stomach. Maybe it wasn't Kouga after all. She reached forward before she think better of it and pushed the office door open. Her blue eyes widened at the sight that greeted her.

Slumped over his desk, his head in his arms, sat Kouga, contentedly snoring away. Kagome walked forward, gingerly stepping over file boxes as she went, and came to a stop next to his disorganized desk. Bending down, she caught sight of his peaceful face and couldn't stop the smile the formed on her face. His hair was unbound and brushing his shoulders, his face slack and smooth in his slumber. Even as hunched over as he was, his frame dwarfed his desk and she could just see the edges of papers sticking out from under his muscled arms.

She shook her head. Had he stayed this whole time? Why hadn't he gone home?

Deciding to think about it later, Kagome made her way to his side and laid one hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Kouga," she called softly. "Kouga, wake up."

He groaned and shrugged her hand away, turning his face from her. She saw him start to settle back down into sleep and would have none of it. Using both of her hands, she gave him a good shake, speaking louder. "Kouga, wake up."

She felt his shoulders tense under her hands and marveled at the feel of the muscle as it moved before turning her attention to the slowly rousing man. His head lifted and he blinked bloodshot and groagy blue eyes at her.

"Kagome?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep. Kagome ignored how the sound of his warm tenor sent shivers down her spine and instead smiled weakly at him, pulling her hands away. "What-Where am I?" he asked, straightening and opening his mouth in a jaw cracking yawn.

"You're at the office, silly. You must have fallen asleep last night."

He cracked his neck with a groan. "God, I feel like shit," he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his haggard face.

Kagome clicked her tongue at him and reached forward absently to brush his bangs away from his forehead. "I'm not surprised," she reprimanded gently. "I can't imagine your desk makes a very good pillow." She paused a moment and watched him as he got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. Her eyes followed the line of his body, eagerly taking in the way his tank top rode up and showed a sliver of tan skin. She frowned and looked away, desperately trying to taper her blush before he noticed. "By the way, why didn't I see your motorcycle out front if you've been here all night?"

Kouga, in fact, didn't notice his secretaries reaction to him and leaned one hip against his desk while he tried to wake his brain up. "I usually move it out back when I pull a late night. This town may be small and safer than the city, but it does have its share of crime and I really don't want to replace my baby."

Kagome nodded in understanding before making her way out of his mess of an office. "Well, I'm getting back to work, then."

"Hey, wait a minute."

Kagome looked back, pausing in the doorway. "Yes?"

Kouga grinned at her, his white teeth gleaming slightly and his blue eyes dancing with amusement. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about we grab some breakfast?"

She looked over her shoulder at the still dirty reception area. "But I still-"

He waved her objection away, making his way towards her and stopping close enough that she felt his breath on her neck. She winced and took a step back, fighting a blush. It seemed as though her boss had no concept of personal space, she mused grimly. Something she would have to get used to.

"That stuff can wait until we get back. The dust isn't going anywhere, I promise." Without another word, he reached down and clasped her slender wrist in his larger, rougher hand and tugged her along behind him as he walked out of his office. "I'm hungry and you look as though you could use a good meal. I know just the place."

Kagome swallowed her objections for the moment, knowing a bull headed male when she encountered one. No matter what she said, Kouga was going to get his way so she might as well pick and choose her battles with her boss.

As they walked out into the dim sunlight, Kagome dug her heels in when Kouga began to tug her toward his motorcycle.

"You can't expect me to get on that thing," she objected, refusing to budge as Kouga tried to keep her walking. He stopped tugging and turned to face her with an amused grin.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of motorcycles," he teased. She didn't take her eyes off the machine and shook her head slowly.

"No…I've just never ridden one, nor have I ever had to desire to."

"Then there's no better time than the present."

With that, he continued on, a reluctant Kagome behind him. Seeing just how much she was dreading the ride in the lines of her face and the way she kept her eyes on the motorcycle at all times, Kouga turned to face her once again, amusement gone. "Come on, Kagome. Trust me. I won't kill you or anything."

She finally turned her gaze up to him with a frown. "Do you promise to go slowly?" she asked cautiously.

Seeing her agreement, he grinned down at her mischievously . "No, of course not." _At first anyway._

* * *

_(AN: Wow, it has been a long time since I've written for this story. Sorry it's taken me so long to realize this existed. I can't promise that I will update regularly but I will try. I do warn you that I have not edited this or really proof read it, so I'm sorry if there are any horrendous mistakes. I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time!)_

_Jane_


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